6. Project Roselle: 21:58

Hello, everyone! I was going to write a formal news-y write-up, but
I'll leave that for the serious bloggers.

Here's the long and short of it:

Roselle Ambubuyog is way, way cool. After being the Ateneo
valedictorian (BS Math) and winning truckloads of awards recognizing
the inspiration she has provided for so many students, both blind and
seeing (including me! =) ), she went for actuarial mathematics at UP.
I sat in some of her classes and they boggled my mind.

Now, she's working from the Philippines as a consultant for the
US-based Freedom Scientific.
She's also working with the Rotary Club on Project Roselle,
which donates scanners and readers to schools so that other
blind children can study.

Over the past three years, they've raised enough money to donate
equipment to three schools: Ramon Magsaysay High School in Manila,
Quirino HS in Quezon City, and Bagong Silang HS in Caloocan. Next
year, they'd like to reach out to schools outside Metro Manila.
They're also exploring ways to help blind people work at call centers
and integrate better into the workplace. They'd like to donate to two
schools a year, but don't really have a lot of money for the hardware.

I think what they're doing is really cool. Unfortunately, there's not
a lot of information on the Net about their project, and chances are
you haven't heard about it yet. Which is why I'm posting it here. =)

If you want to get in touch with Roselle, drop me a note and I'll
forward your message to her. (I haven't asked for permission to post
her e-mail address yet.)

3. Lifehacks: Doing my mail on the train: 18:01

If I leave work right after the clock chimes at 5:30, I almost always
manage to get a seat on the train going home. This means I can do my
mail and a little bit of blogging besides. I aim to answer all of my
personal mail and acknowledge all other mail needing my action on the
day I receive them.

The train I transfer to is crowded, though, and I don't have my
one-handed keyboard set up yet. (Need to recompile my kernel.) During
then, I loop over my Japanese review materials. Headset + laptop is an
excellent combination!